Project G
by Kei.C
Summary: We're monsters. We've lost our dreams and pride." - "Then what is left of us?" - "Hatred."
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **All Characters belong to SquarEnix. Sadly.

**Note:** This story has little/nothing to do with the original "Crisis Core" plot, so there's no need trying to tell me that I got everything wrong/mixed up.  
This is my story and it doesn't follow "Crisis Core", nor does it end like "Crisis Core". I changed the plot to a great extend, but there could still be minor spoilers. Some facts are true, others are completely off.

**Chapter one: Failure**

Hollander was positive that his experiment would have the best results ever. He would beat Hojo to it this time, that he was sure of. Hojo had been Shinra's top scientist for long enough now. It was time for him to retire. He was a mad man and had several projects going on at the same time. He wasn't able to take care of all of them and this was why he wasn't going anywhere with his research. Hollander smiled to himself as he went over his notes. He had scaled top values last week, which meant he was finally ready to proceed to the last stadium of his project.

The only project he had running at this time. Project G.

He had started it shortly before Hojo had started his Project S and to outplay him in advance he had convinced Shinra to let him do two projects of the same kind at the same time. So basically, Hojo had two test subjects for one project, whereas Hollander himself had only one subject. If he failed with this one, he would be doomed.

But for him there was no reason to worry at all. His test subject easily outstood both of Hojo's, especially when it came to the substance, that was actually being tested.

Hollander put the phone reciever to his ear. „Everything is ready. Send him down now."

A few minutes later the metallic door to his laboratory opened and a tall man entered the room. He wore black leather pants and boots, a black shirt and over it a leather coat of dark red. He had gloves on his hands, the exact same color as the coat, so the only skin that was visible, was that of his face. He was pale, but didn't look sick. Quite the opposite. The way he confidently walked into the room with firm steps, gave him a strong outward appearance. His piercing blue eyes stood out against his brown hair, of which strands fell into his face. His face was expressionless and he didn't even greet the man before him.

Hollander didn't care. He was proud of what he had created. Genesis was his creation. It would bring him success and fame and money all at once. With just one last test.

Genesis' body was adapting to the substance on a very high level, thus Hollander had always had better results than Hojo for the past four years. He was almost certain that it was because of the substance he used, which was actually a different substance than the one Hojo used in his project. While Hojo was using mako on his subjects, Hollander had used the original form of mako. Stagnant-mako. The pure form of mako, taken directly from the lifestream. The mako Hojo used was modified and less dangerous to a human body. But it was also less powerful.

Seeing as their goal was to create the strongest and most powerful warrior ever, it was totally pointless to Hollander to use the modified substance for it. He didn't know how Hojo thought he could keep up with him if he refused to use stagnant-mako, but he didn't give a damn anyway. Today would be his victory day.

He smiled at Genesis. „Ready for the final test?"

Genesis merely nodded. Hollander was about to say something more, but the door opened again and three men entered the laboratory. The scientist's face fell. Hojo, Sephiroth and Angeal were standing behind Genesis now.

Hollander pointed at his rival. „What the hell are you doing here?"

Hojo surpressed a smile. „Order from President Shinra. He wants us to supervise this little experiment of yours. Just in case something goes wrong."

„You're wasting your time.", Hollander spat at him. „This will be the end of my project and it will be verified by Shinra."

„Good for you.", Hojo told him and stepped up beside Genesis. „And I really don't want to miss how Genesis turns into the most powerful SOLDIER we've ever seen."

The scientist eyed Genesis with a strange look on his face. The First Class SOLDIER ignored him.

„Of course.", Hollander agreed smirking. „You can drop all your projects after this."

He turned and walked over to a metallic operating table, in the middle of the room. There was lots of empty space around the table.

Hollander waved at Genesis. „Come here. Lay down on your back please."

Genesis obeyed silently. While he positioned himself on the table, Hojo, Sephiroth and Angeal moved closer and stood around it. Sephiroth's face was as expressionless as Genesis', only Angeal had a worried look on his face.

Hollander held a special pistol for mako-injection in his hand. It was filled with the gleaming green substance.

„Relax, Genesis.", he told him, before he pierced the needle of the injection into his subject's neck.

Genesis gave no reaction to the contact and as the substance slowly left the injection and flowed into his body he lay completely still. Everyone in the room eyed the SOLDIER curiously, but nothing seemed to happen.

Hollander lay the injection from his hand and turned to Genesis again. He kept staring at the ceiling stubbornly and refused to move, for he feared something in his body would change then. There was something inside him, he could almost feel the cold substance gathering at one point in his body. Was it his heart? It was on the left side for sure. A pain shot through his back and he closed his eyes.

Sephiroth immediatley stepped forward. He sensed something was wrong. Angeal followed him, he stood on the other side of the table, opposing Sephiroth. Hollander noticed the SOLDIER's concern and shoved Angeal aside to have a look at his subject.

„Is everything okay?" He tried to sound calm, but his worry clearly showed and Hojo had to fight the urge to smirk.

Suddenly Genesis let out a scream and sat up straight. The moment he did so, something black came shooting out of the left sight of his back. It was huge and fast and it made the four man jump backwards in fear. Genesis continued to scream, while he embraced his upper body and tried desperately to reach his wounded back.

Seconds after that, the others realised what had just happened and stared in shock at the black wing, that had come out of Genesis' body.

It didn't take Hojo long to start laughing uncontrolably. With one hand he held his stomach with the other he pointed at the SOLDIER in red. „That's... that's just..."

While the scientist laughed his ass off, Sephiroth and Angeal lunged forward and each grabbed one of Genesis' arms, in order to prevent him from using magic against anyone. He was obviously out of his mind. The only things he felt were pain and rage and he wanted to destroy everything around him.

„Hold him down!", yelled Hollander, as a wave of despair hit him. His experiment had failed. The only thing he had managed to create was a one-winged monster. And if it couldn't even bear the pain of having a wing coming out of his back, it definitively could never be the most powerful warrior in the world.

With a crushed look on his face Hollander watched, as the two First Class SOLDIERS tried to calm their childhood friend. He was spitting angry words at them, while trying in vain to break free. They dragged him from the table and made him lay down on the ground on his stomach, so that his back would not be damaged further. The black wing fell numbly on Sephiroth's shoulder. His eyes widened in surprise as something soft touched his neck. The wing was actually feathered. It was just the blood on the feathers that made it look like it was a demon wing.

Angeal looked everywhere but at Genesis' face. He couldn't bear his friend's hurt and betrayed expression any longer. Genesis still struggled to free himself, but he was too weak and too much in pain to succeed.

Hollander stumbled around the table to take a closer look at the wing, while Hojo, unimpressed with Genesis' outbrust, went up to the table. Its surface was covered in blood as well and the scientist with a smile on his face reached out to touch the red substance, that had come out of Genesis' wound. When it touched his fingers it was still warm... and slowly started to disappear. Hojo turned to Hollander.

„That was hardly a success. You gave him a single wing, that's all. He suffers from it and it doesn't look like he can move it. It seems like it is just a side effect of the stagnant-mako and not a real part of his body. Poor thing."

It was true, while struggling against Sephiroth and Angeal, Genesis never once moved his wing. It hang completely numbly off his back.

Hollander turned to his rival angrily. „His body didn't react like that last time. Maybe it was just too much mako in one month."

Hojo let out a sharp laugh. „Face it, Hollander. You failed. You failed, because you refused to use Jenova Cells on him. This failure just confirmed my theories. Stagnant-mako doesn't go with any other substance and because it is so strong it destroyed Genesis' own cells and build up new ones inside of him. That is why you have to give him a dose per week, am I right? Because otherwise the mako cells in his body would fall apart and he would deteriorate."

All of a sudden every single sound in the room died down.

Genesis finally gave up. He lay his head on the cold ground and closed his eyes. Sephiroth loosened his grip around the arm he had held and looked up at Angeal, who had a very sad expression on his face. They both heard of it for the first time. So this was the price? The price for being one of the most powerful creatures in the world. Genesis payed it by letting it eat up his own body.

But something was amiss. As he opened his eyes again, Sephiroth could see that Genesis hadn't known any of this either. The shock of this revelation clearly stood on his face. Hollander had been lying to him all those years.

Angeal wondered what excuse the scientist had been using all the time, to convince Genesis of taking mako constantly. He could imagine that it wasn't easy to betray Genesis, but Hollander had surely managed to do so.

It didn't slip Hojo's attention that the one-winged SOLDIER had just learned of his own fate and so he decided to use that fact to his advantage.

„My, my... what a cruel thing to do. You poisoned Genesis' body and the only thing holding it together now, is the stagnant-mako. You made him addicted to it.", he said nearly pitifully. „Tell me, how long can he go without? How long does it take until his cells begin to fall apart, if he wouldn't get the mako?"

„None of your damn business!", Hollander shouted, his voice trembling with anger.

„So, does this mean I can inform President Shinra of the failure of your project then?", Hojo asked with a mocking tone in his voice.

„Leave.", Hollander hissed. „Get out of my laboratory!"

Hojo smirked and turned from the other scientist. „Sephiroth, Angeal, we're going." He left the room, without looking back once.

Angeal hesitated to leave his friend's side. But he knew very well that he couldn't possibly disobey an order. With a sigh he eventually let go of Genesis' arm and stood, ready to follow Hojo through the door.

Sephiroth was about to do the same, when he suddenly felt a light grip on his wrist. He looked down to see that Genesis had set his pleading eyes on him. At that very moment they reflected nothing but pain and fear.

„Don't leave.", he managed to mouth, but there was no sound coming from his lips.

Sephiroth was slightly taken aback. In all those years he had known him, Genesis had never once asked him for something, let alone begged him. But he did now. Genesis was begging him to stay.

„I have to.", Sephiroth said in a low voice. He tore his eyes away from Genesis and stood, easily breaking out of the weak grip the other had on him.

„Don't worry. I will take care of him.", Hollander assured the First Class SOLDIERS before they left his laboratory. Leaving their friend laying on the ground.

The scientist crouched down beside Genesis and carefully touched the black wing. To his surprise, Genesis reacted to the touch, the wing twitched slightly. A warm smile graced Hollander's face.

„I knew it. It's not the best of results, but it definitively is a result. One that Hojo can only be jealous of. I gave you a wing. Does Sephiroth have a wing? No. Does Angeal have a wing? No. You're the only one. You will crush them all, my precious monster."

While whispering to himself, he gently stroked Genesis' hair, never realizing that his touch was torturous to Genesis. The SOLDIER had every desire to kill Hollander at this very moment, but due to the pain and numbness in his body, he couldn't move a finger.

„Oh, I know.", Hollander exclaimed happily. „While you're recovering, I'm going to read Loveless to you, how does that sound?"

He got to his feet walked through the room in search for the book and came back again when he had found it. He seated himself on the ground and began to read out the first chapter of Genesis' favorite lyric.

--

Thanks for reading the first chapter. I hope you liked it. More is to come. Until then, review please?


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **All characters belong to SquarEnix. Can't be helped...

**Note: **Special thanks to The Final Hikari, for editing the chapter!

**Chapter ****Two****: Monster**

Genesis sat on the operating table, cross-legged, and silently read through the book he held in one hand. All the while flapping his black wing in a manner you would tap your finger on a desk if you were bored. He was the only one in the laboratory, for most of Hollander's assistents had been fired and the scientist himself had to take care of other experiments since Shinra had declared his project finished and if he wanted to stay at the department he had to make himself useful.

The soft humming of a few computers was the only sound that could be heard. Blue light shone from the different monitors and brightened up the room. Just as the SOLDIER turned a page, the heavy door slit open and Hollander marched into the laboratory, smiling at the other man. Genesis didn't acknowledge the scientist in any way. He simply continued reading as if he were still alone in the room. With a sigh Hollander walked over to one of his desks.

"So have you been reading all day?" he asked in a light tone, while preparing the injection pistol. When Genesis didn't reply he turned to him and looked at his back, noticing that the SOLDIER had stretched his wing. Its span was enormous, almost covering half of the length of the laboratory. It was at least twice the SOLDIER's size.

Hollander wondered if it exhausted Genesis to move the wing or even carry it around, for it certainly was linked to his own muscles. But then again, most cells of Genesis' body were composed of mako anyway, so what was another giant muscle of mako to him? It suited his body structure perfectly, but still the scientist questioned the meaning of just one single wing. It couldn't possibly be used to fly. So what was it for?

"Does it still hurt?" Hollander went on, waiting for a reaction from the other man. He got none, and with the pistol filled with stagnant-mako in his hand, he approached Genesis from behind.

The moment he was within reach of the wing and wanted to grab a handful of the black feathers, Genesis suddenly flipped his wing against him, hitting the injection from Hollander's hand. The scientist hissed and backed away quickly. Genesis slammed his book shut. With graceful ease he leaped from the table and turned around, careful to lift his wing over Hollander's head while he did so. His eyes were filled with anger.

"What's wrong with you?" Hollander demanded sternly, although fear was creeping through his voice.

"What's wrong with me?!" Genesis shot back furiously. He tossed his book on the table and slowly advanced on the scientist. "I have a demon wing! That is what is wrong!"

"It could be an angel's wing," Hollander suggested, smiling nervously.

"It's black! Angel wings are white!"

Hollander made a face. "Where did that came from? Loveless?"

Genesis' eyes narrowed dangerously. When he came to stand directly in front of the scientist, he noticed the pistol lying on the ground and instantly put his foot on the object. It cracked slightly. Hollander winced at the sound of it.

"What are you doing? You need this!" he gestured wildly to the broken injection at the SOLDIER's feet. The green substance slowly flowed out of it and diffused on the floor.

"You promised me to find a way to stop it," Genesis could not bring himself to vocalise what would happen to his body. It would begin to fall apart. Deterioration. Degeneration. Whatever it was called, he wanted it to stop. He needed it to stop.

"I know, I know," Hollander held up his hands in defense. "But it's not as easy as you may think. Trust me, I'm working on it. I will stop the whole process once and for all."

Genesis turned his head.

"In the meantime... why don't you go out and do some training or whatever?"

"I can't fight with this thing on my back"

"It's a wing, Genesis."

"It makes me a monster."

Hollander sighed. "But you can't just hide in here forever. What will the others think?"

Genesis smiled coldly. "What will everyone think if the First Class SOLDIER shows up at the military base with a monstrous wing on his back? What will they think?" The smile fell from his lips. "They will think that I'm a monster!"

He turned away from the scientist outraged and strode through the room. "A monster! Not worth of being a hero anymore! I will never be one! If I go out there, I will lose my dignity! They'll shoot at me! I can never keep up with Sephiroth like that! He'll laugh at me!"

The SOLDIER came to a halt. He pointed at Hollander. "I'm not going out! I will stay here until you have fixed everything!"

"Okay, I was just asking. Calm down." He went to lift up the broken injection pistol and put it on his desk, to where several others were lying. He took a new one and filled it with stagnant-mako.

Genesis leaned on the operating table, resigned. He knew he had no choice. And no time. But he was determined to make the best of it. He wouldn't give up. He would turn everything to his advantage. He didn't need his body's strength. The hero of „Loveless" hadn't needed it either. People could be beaten by words. He could make them fall, all of Shinra, without having to use his sword once. The plot was already set. In his mind he picked out the main players, making sure to put himself in the role of the hero.

"Turn your head," Hollander told him. Genesis did and when the needle pierced his flesh he flinched slightly. Once again, the mako was flowing into his body, steadying his cells and muscles.

"Should I send Angeal down here at least? He worries about you." The scientist didn't look Genesis in the eyes while asking and instead turned to his desk again, to put the injection away.

"No, I'll be fine. But could you get me my sword? It's still up in my room."

"It won't be much use here," Hollander protested.

"Just get it for me, will you?" Genesis said in a demanding voice.

The scientist knew better than to argue further and silently made his way out of the laboratory.

Genesis positioned himself on the table again, picked up the book and continued to read it where he had left off.

On his way to Genesis' room Hollander came across Angeal and Sephiroth. The black haired man walked up to him, followed by the silver haired.

"How's Genesis?" the First Class SOLDIER asked without greeting. He had no desire to be friendly to the man who betrayed and hurt Genesis so badly.

"He's fine. No need to worry."

"Then why isn't he coming out of the lab?" Sephiroth threw at him.

"He simply doesn't want to," the scientist answered nervously. "he is embarrassed about his wing and he told me it's preventing him from fighting. I guess he can't manage to coordinate its movements like he wants to yet. It irritates him. He would only hurt himself if the wing was in his way, while wielding a sword."

"But he could train his wing, couldn't he?" Angeal had still hope.

Hollander nodded. "Sure. But my laboratory is certainly to small to do training in there. Especially when his wing is so big. He needs to go out. Or at least into the training room."

"Then let me talk to him."

Hollander considered this for a moment. "Okay. He asked for his sword. So if you go to him, please bring it with you."

Angeal nodded and moved on towards where he had originally been heading for, Sephiroth following close behind. But instead of going to their rooms, they went to Genesis', picked up his red sword and left for Hollander's laboratory.

Halfway though, Sephiroth stopped in his tracks. Angeal turned to him.

"I don't think that he would want to see me."

The black haired crossed his arms over his chest. "Guess, you're right. How about you go ahead and wait in the training room for us?"

Sephiroth just smiled and left into the other direction.

When the door opened this time, Genesis actually looked up from his book, expecting Hollander with his sword. He froze. It was his sword, but it was Angeal carrying it to him.

He closed the book and lay it aside.

"Why are you here?" he asked his friend in a cold and distant voice.

Angeal handed over the sword, never looking at the wing once.

"To talk to you."

Genesis took it and turned away.

"I have nothing to say. Leave me alone."

Angeal shook his head. "I'm not going to leave my friend."

Genesis' eyes narrowed. "There are at least two things untrue about what you just said."

The other lifted his head, challenging. "Oh, yeah? What?"

"Firstly, you left me alone when I needed you the most--"

"That was on order. I couldn't disobey!"

"Secondly, how can you possibly be a friend to a monster like me?!"

"You're not a monster!"

"Yes, I am! I have lost my pride, and my dreams!"  
They both fell silent and stared into each other's eyes.

"How can you say that?" Angeal breathed, a disbelievingly look on his face.

Genesis lowered his eyes to the ground. "It's true. But you will never understand." He looked up at Angeal. "You don't have to walk around with a huge wing on your back. Your body is not slowly falling apart. I turned into something that I never wanted to be."

"Genesis…," Angeal reached out to lay a hand on his shoulder, but the other backed away.

"How can a monster like me become a hero?"

Angeal didn't respond. He knew that it had been Genesis' dream since they had known each other.

"It can never be. I've lost my dream."

The black haired man understood. But still, he couldn't imagine his friend to give up like that. He knew that deep down some pride must have been left.

Angeal grabbed his arm and made Genesis face him.

"So are you saying you're giving up?"

"No, I'm adjusting to the new situation," hissed the SOLDIER in red and freed himself from the other's grip.

Angeal smiled at this. Just as he'd thought. Genesis wouldn't let himself be defeated by fate. He'd rather take it in his own hands. Little did he know, that Genesis intended to control the fates of many others, too.

The one-winged SOLDIER seemed to have come to terms with himself and sighed.

Suddenly something was being thrown at him, but he managed to catch it easily. Genesis observed the red object in his hand.

"How about adjusting to it in the training room?"

He looked up from the apple to Angeal.

"Sephiroth is waiting."

A smile showed on Genesis' lips. "Can't await his downfall, can he?"

Angeal smiled back at him, not knowing that his friend's words had more meaning to them than it seemed. Genesis took a bite from the apple and headed for the door of the laboratory.

When both First Class SOLDIERS entered the training room, Sephiroth turned to them. His eyes met Genesis'. There was a mutual understanding between them. No word of what had happened the day Genesis had gotten his wing. Sephiroth never would have taken advantage of him when he was at his weakest. So he didn't bring up the matter. He could only imagine what Genesis must have felt when he had learned about everything. It must have been hard to cope with it.

"You look good," he told him with a small smile on his lips.

Genesis nodded. "I've had enough time to make up my mind."

"And to what decision did you come?"

"I still want to defeat you, Sephiroth," he told him with a grin, pulling out his sword.

"I thought so." Sephiroth drew his sword as well, but Angeal had to interfere.

"Slow down, guys. You can fight when Genesis has learned how to use his wing effectively."

"And you two would be the ones to teach me, I assume?" Genesis asked in a rather sarcastic voice and put his sword down again. He couldn't stand a chance against Sephiroth anyway, if his wing was in the way.

"Well, we'll try to help you as much as we can," Angeal suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Genesis agreed. "So I'll be jumping around here, trying not to stumble over my wing, amusing you to death?"

Sephiroth let out a short laugh. "How about you try to fly?" He pulled out his handy and taped something into it. A few seconds later they were no longer in the headquarter building of Shinra, but at Junon; on top of the giant cannon.

"Sephiroth, has it ever occurred to you, that one needs at least two wings to actually fly?" Genesis asked, while heading for the edge of the cannon. He looked down onto the ocean as if he really considered to jump.

Sephiroth walked up beside him and also stared into the deep. "Isn't there a chapter in Loveless talking about wings?"

Genesis turned to the silver haired man. "Yes, there is."

"Well?" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at him. "Aren't you going to quote from it?"

Genesis smiled. "Wings on somebody, may they be ever so small, are a certain sign for that person's wish to be free."

"What do you wish to be free from?" Angeal asked, stepping up on Genesis' other side.

"Shinra." Genesis whispered and without a warning jumped over the edge.

"Genesis!" Angeal screamed, leaning forward.

Sephiroth did as well, for he wanted to see Genesis drop into the cold water of the sea. When he saw that Genesis fell all the way, his wing clutched to his body, his lips curled up into an evil smile. However, just before he connected with the water, Genesis spread out his wing and effectively stopped his fall. He directed himself up and flew straight ahead over the waves. He flapped his wing a few times to gain height and soon was on the same level again, as the top of the cannon.

Angeal cheered for him, waving happily at his childhood friend, while Sephiroth just watched, unamused.

Genesis took his time and curved around the heads of the other two, clearly enjoying the unique feature he possessed. But at the same time he remembered how it brought so much pain over him, how it took away so much from him. While he flew over the roofs of Junon he mourned his lost dream, knowing it was out of reach forever.

But he had already decided to follow a different path. If he couldn't become the hero, he would just have to be the monster then.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **All characters belong to SquarEnix...

**Note:** Special thanks to The **Final Hikari **for editing the chapter!

**Chapter ****Three****: Assault**

"So you're still hiding in here," Sephiroth said as he came through the door.

Genesis leaped from the operating table he had been sitting on, his wing clutched to his side.

"Everyone is looking for you. Our troops are less confident if there are only two of us at the front. Wutai is attacking at full force now. We could need your help."

"And you don't think they will mistake me for the enemy and gun me down?"

Sephiroth prevented himself from sighing. "Stop this already. A single wing doesn't make you a monster yet."

"It doesn't make me human either."

"Really, it won't matter to them as long as you're going to save their asses." The silver haired SOLDIER smirked. "Too many recruits at the front. Angeal and I don't get to fight back, because we are busy instructing all the kids. Seems more like a training camp to me than a war."

Genesis sighed. "So you're asking me to help you teach the kids?"

Sephiroth' smile grew wider. "More like demonstrating them what a real SOLDIER is supposed to do."

"Guess I can do that," Genesis picked up his sword and followed Sephiroth out of the laboratory.

"Did Hollander find anything yet?" Sephiroth asked casually.

Genesis rolled his eyes. "No. He's making empty promises. I don't care anymore."

Sephiroth looked at his friend from the side. His expression told him otherwise. Genesis seemed to hide something from them. He strongly felt that, but he decided not to say anything yet.

When they arrived on the top of the Shinra headquarters, a helicopter was already waiting for them. Its propellor was moving constantly, blowing a strong wind over the top of the building. Sephiroth was about to climb in, when he noticed that Genesis spread out his wing.

He turned to the SOLDIER in red.

"It wouldn't make much sense if I got on the helicopter," Genesis explained. He intended to fly himself.

Sephiroth understood, but could not help worrying. "It's quite a long flight," he bit his tongue, stopping himself from asking, if Genesis could make it. He was afraid it would have insulted him.

Genesis got his point nonetheless. "I'll be flying next to the helicopter. If I can't go on anymore, I'll give you as sign, so that you can get me in."

"Alright," Sephiroth climbed into the helicopter. Its doors were shut and the propellor picked up speed. Soon after it took off and Genesis jumped over the edge of the building, going after the helicopter.

He easily caught up with it, making sure to fly next to its side window, so that Sephiroth could see him. The silver haired man watched his childhood friend with a bored expression on his face. He didn't want to give him the satisfaction of being able to show off in front of him. He didn't envy Genesis one bit. Sure, he was able to fly. No human being was able to fly, without certain technology. But that was the point. No human. As Genesis had said himself. He was no longer human. He wouldn't call him a monster either. It was just that... Something was terribly wrong. Humans shouldn't grow wings just like that. It was abnormal.

Sephiroth feared that the same would happen to him and Angeal. The experiment they had been undergoing. They knew nothing about it. It was kept secret from them. They had no access to their own data. It had never worried him, until now... He didn't know who his parents were. He wondered if Genesis knew. Where did they come from?

As he watched the one-winged SOLDIER flying almost carefree next to the helicopter, Sephiroth decided that he would talk to Angeal about it. They couldn't just stand around and do nothing. People were already starting to talk. Despite what he told Genesis, it was true. There were wild rumors going on about what happened to the First Class SOLDIER, since he had disappeared weeks ago. It was confusing him and he wondered what he should do about it. He wanted it to be like it was before. He wanted to go back to the time, when he, Genesis and Angeal had been reckless Second Class SOLDIERS. Too proud to obey any orders, too selfish to work in a group, too childish to take things serious. But they had to take things serious now.

There was a war going on and it was not a game to them anymore. Nor was the future. Sephiroth feared the future, especially with Genesis always quoting from his stupid book, reading out lines of hopelessness, no turning back and decisions that changed everyone's lives. The quotes seemed like a foreboding to him. He wondered why Genesis did that.

After a two hour flight they arrived at the SOLDIER camp on the Wutai front. The whole area was quiet and seemed to be save at the moment. The helicopter landed on the empty field, further afar from the camp. A few SOLDIERS, Angeal among them, came running to the helicopter to see Sephiroth jumping out of it. The silver haired man gave a sign with his hand and the helicopter took off again. Angeal's face fell when he realized that Sephiroth had come alone. He obviously hadn't expected that.

"So what did he say?" Angeal asked, trying to hide his concern.

"That it wouldn't make much sense if he came here by helicopter," Sephiroth said matter-off-factly and nodded towards the darkening sky.

Angeal and some of the recruits looked up to the sky. They spotted a small figure with a huge wing. It came closer at a rapid pace. Afraid, two of the recruits stepped back.

"What is that?" one of them asked, his voice trembling.

"Sir, should we open fire?" another asked, his gun already aimed at the target.

"No!"

Angeal turned to him and hastily put his hand on the other man's gun to push the muzzle down, so that the shot would hit the ground. As he had expected the nervous recruit had pulled the trigger by accident and fired a bullet. There was a loud bang. Everyone, except Sephiroth and Angeal jumped at the sound. Angeal didn't even blink as the bullet pierced into the ground right in front of his foot. The recruit stared at his general in shock.

Angeal wanted to say something but it was too late. At the sound of the shot, the whole camp was alarmed and fell into a complete panic. The siren howled all over the place and in a matter of seconds the SOLDIERs and recruits were at their weapons, following orders from their second-in-command generals.

"No! Don't fire!" Angeal screamed, but to no avail. It was too loud and he was too far away from the camp. Suddenly the searchlights were lit and blinding rays of light flew over the field in search for the enemy.

Through the light Angeal could make out Sephiroth, who was already running towards the entrance of the camp, attempting to stop the attack.

"Airstrike! Airstrike!" someone screamed, and after a while more voices joined in to spread the information all over the base. Soon there was a whole army, aiming their guns at the sky, searching for the intruder.

Angeal knew instinctively that Sephiroth wouldn't make it. The lights were already up at the sky, illuminating the dark night. The army was trained for situations like this and they could handle them perfectly fine. There was no need for them to wait for orders being given.

"Stop it!" Sephiroth shouted as he approached some of the recruits at the very front of the camp. His order irritated them. They only lowered their weapons, because it was The General himself, standing in front of them and they were probably afraid of making any mistakes.

"We are not attacked, this is false alarm," he tried to explain, just as the first shots were fired. Sephiroth froze at the sound. It was too late.

Angeal eyes widened when he found the searchlights falling on Genesis. At first it was only one and he could see Genesis trying to escape the light, so that he was disappearing into darkness again. But soon the other lights joined and the one-winged SOLDIER was no longer able to avoid them. This was when the fire was opened.

Angeal started running towards the camp as well. He had to do something, he couldn't let this happen. Why was everything going wrong? Because he had expected Genesis coming out of the helicopter. Because he had expected the SOLDIERS accepting Genesis' black wing. He certainly hadn't expected This. A whole army trying to gun down their own general. This was so utterly wrong.

Genesis dodged the first two bullets that came flying at him, but he was hit by the second two. One grazed his right leg, the other pierced through his left hand. For a moment he was paralysed and stopped moving. He fell. He fell out of the searchlight and everyone suddenly lost sight of him. But Genesis senses kicked back in before he hit the ground and he picked up height again.

Sephiroth panicked even more, when he saw his companion falling. There was no time to set things right and it was no use to try and get the army under his command again. He had to stop the attack. And then the searchlights came to his mind. Without thinking twice about it, he drew Masamune and headed for the nearest light.

Meanwhile, Angeal was stopped dead in his tracks when he, too, lost sight of Genesis. He was torn between running to the camp and putting an end to the attack, or trying to find his friend, who he assumed, was already lying on the ground somewhere, wounded. However, the decision was made for him, when the SOLDIER in red suddenly appeared in the spot of the searchlights again. Angeal sighed somewhat relieved and hurried towards the camp. As he arrived at the front entrance, he caught sight of Sephiroth on top of one of the four towers, surrounding the camp and witnessed how the First Class SOLDIER destroyed the searchlight that was attached to it.

Sephiroth slashed his long sword at the projector and effectively extinguished the light. Now there were only three more left. He turned to see if he had been helpful, expecting to see less light cutting through the darkness, but the sight he was shown was like a slap in the face to him. Genesis was neither out of the spotlight, nor was he out of the line of fire. It was, in fact, much worse. Genesis moved closer to the camp and all the while lost height.

Now that the supposed enemy was drawing nearer to the base, the SOLDIERs had to reinforce their attack. They brought out machine-guns and positioned themselves in a row on top of the mural. A moment later the fire was opened.

Genesis screamed when he suddenly found himself in a rain of bullets. He was unable to avoid that many and was at a complete loss about what to do. Firing back at them with magic was no option, for that would only make him more of an enemy in their eyes. Suddenly feeling very insecure, he tried to shield his body with the wing, but that caused him to drop very rapidly and with the wing drawn around his body he somehow turned upside down and lost track completely.

He struggled to catch himself again, flapping frantically with his wing to gain height. Trapped in mid-air, he desperately tried to get away from the source of the fire, but the lights caught him again and immediately more bullets frizzled around him. The bullets pierced into his flesh, a dozen at a time, and the SOLDIER screamed even more. Interminable jolts of pain sent fire through his nerves and clouded his senses.

He made yet another useless attempt to escape, which was cut short when one of the iron bullets pierced through his wing. Pained and panic-stricken he tried to flee in one direction, any direction. But he chose the wrong one. He turned and stared wide-eyed into the bright light of the towers. Blinded, Genesis lost orientation.

"Damn it!" Sephiroth cursed. "Why is the fool coming in our direction?!"

He jumped from the tower on top of the wooden mural which embedded the camp and waved at Genesis. "Wrong turn! Get the hell away from here!" He held his breath to scream some more, when Genesis apparently hadn't heard him, as a sharp pain shot through his left arm. He gasped for air and nearly dropped Masamune.

"Fuck!" He had gotten himself in the line of fire. _Well, since I'm already at it, _Sephiroth mused and made a dash for the second tower on the opposite. On his way he cut some of the guns out of the SOLDIER's hands to prevent them from shooting at his friend, but he didn't get to hit all of them. When he arrived at the second tower, he was relieved to see that the third tower's searchlight was already off and that Angeal was on his way to the fourth.

Sephiroth destroyed the second tower's light and turned just in time to see Genesis only a few meters away from the mural of the camp. He was coming down and it seemed like he couldn't stop the fall anymore. He neither flapped his wing, nor did he try to shield himself with it.

_He is unconscious_, Sephiroth thought alarmed and made a mad dash to where the SOLDIERS were now panicking that the monster was flying directly towards them. Some stayed and continued to fire, while most of them fled from the mural.

Sephiroth didn't make it. He was about two meters away, when Genesis crashed into one of the SOLDIERS at full speed, striking him over the edge of the wall. They both fell to the ground, the one-winged SOLDIER lying on top of the other one. Neither of them moved.

Sephiroth jumped down the wall and reached his friend before anyone else could. That way he made sure that Genesis wouldn't be attacked by anyone. The SOLDIERS and recruits that now gathered around them were simply watching, not a single one of them raised his gun at the supposed enemy.

Sephiroth pulled Genesis off of the other SOLDIER and was surprised by the wing's weight. He hadn't thought it would have been this heavy. He would need Angeal's help to actually carry Genesis. For now, he only turned him on his back to make sure he was alright. There was blood all over his body and his wing. He was studded with bullet entry wounds, his clothes were ragged and black feathers were lying all around him. But at least he had survived the crash landing.

When the SOLDIERS recognized the First Class in red, shock was written all over their faces and it didn't take them long to start whispering. Sephiroth ignored them and turned his attention to the other SOLDIER. He checked on him only to find that he was dead. His neck was broken. Genesis had accidentally killed him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **All characters belong to SquarEnix...

**Note:** Special thanks to **The Final Hikari **for editing the chapter!

**Chapter ****F****our: Memory **

"And Genesis is where?" Lazard asked, annoyed that the three of them again hadn't made it on time. Two of them, yes, but the day had yet to come when all three of them would be standing in his office punctually.

The Shinra-executive sighed and reminded himself that he had given up hope long ago. Sephiroth was looking out of the window, while Angeal tried hard to pretend that he hadn't heard the question. Just when Lazard was about to scold the two Second Class SOLDIERs, Genesis entered the room. He hadn't even bothered to knock.

Lazard crossed his arms over his chest and eyed Genesis expectantly. The SOLDIER in red stood between Angeal and Sephiroth and simply stared back at the executive.

_Unbelievable_, Lazard thought, shaking his head. He leaned on his desk which he was standing in front of and let out another sigh, loud enough for the three young men to hear. However, they did a good job at ignoring it.

"Where have you been" he asked, clearly irritated.

Genesis leaned his head slightly to one side. "Taking care of Yuuko. She's ill."

Lazard turned around and grumbled something under his breath. He picked up his cell phone and turned to the three troublemakers again. "Now let's see. You three have been caught inside the training room without permission, skipped teamwork- and communication-classes a few times and never showed up at the survival challenge held two weeks ago. .. That's quite a number of complaints…"

The three SOLDIERs were not impressed. They'd done worse and gotten away with it. Last time they had been sent to Northern Crater and had to fight monsters that were clearly of higher levels than their own. In the end they had enjoyed the trip through hell, so the punishment this time could only be less evil.

"As a consequence of your missbehaviour and lack of respect for your duties, you will assist me. Here in the office of the military department."

Lazard tried hard not to smirk upon seeing the shocked faces of the three SOLDIERs. They gaped at him with wide eyes.

"You're kidding," Sephiroth said, not amused.

"Nope." The executive finally gave in and smiled.

"Do you mean we have to sit around here and do paperwork?" Angeal wanted to know, though he already knew what the answer would be.

"Yes, that is exactly what I mean."

Lazard waited for a moment, to see if Genesis wanted to say something too, but when he didn't, the blond just started to explain what exactly their assignment would be. He pointed towards his large desk on top of which lay several black folders and tons of white papers.

"These are lists of all SOLDIERs and recruits that ever worked for Shinra since its formation. These lists where never updated and are not really organised--"

"Don't you have all the files on you computer?" Genesis asked, a bit on the edge.

"Of course, I do. But we need them on paper as well. Safety regulation. If the main server broke down, everything would be lost. That's why we keep every file stored away in folders as well."

Lazard surpressed a smile. He could tell that Genesis and the other two were not happy with their punishment. Not at all.

"So this is what you will do. You're going to organise the folders alphabetically. Separate those that are no longer working for Shinra from those that still are, active and inactive, and make an extra folder for those who died."

There came no response from the three men. Lazard walked over to the door.

"I do believe you will successfully master this assignment without my help. So please excuse me now." With that the executive left his office and closed the door behind him.

Angeal, Sephiroth and Genesis stared at the stack of papers in front of them. The black-haired SOLDIER was the first to move. He walked over to the desk and surveyed the amount of work levelly.

"This will be going to take forever."

Genesis stepped up behind him.

"No, it won't. We'll kill them all and then make one big folder of dead SOLDIERs."

"Right," Sephiroth agreed half-heartedly. "And no one would ever suspect us."

Genesis let himself fall in the nearest chair. "I don't want to do this…"

"Me neither," sighed the silver-haired man. "But we have to."

Angeal seated himself as well. "Okay, then. Let's get this over with."

All three each took one folder and started skipping through the pages. After a while however, they realised that they weren't getting anywhere this way.

Sephiroth sighed. "We have to order the files."

Genesis looked at him blankly. "I know."

The silver haired SOLDIER shook his head. "We need to do this seriously."

"What do you suggest?" Angeal asked, willing do to anything just do finish their stupid assignment.

"One of us has to check the files on the computer to find out, which SOLDIERs are dead and which are still alive."

"Nice plan. Who's checking the computer?"

Sephiroth looked at Genesis who was staring back at him indifferently.

"I don't care, really," Sephiroth tried to reassure him, but the SOLDIER in red had already taken it down the wrong pipe.

"Rock-Paper-Scissors," he declared determinedly and started counting to three.

Angered Sephiroth held up his hand, accepting the challenge. At three, both of them held out their hands. Both of them had Rock. Not pleased Genesis started counting again.

This time Sephiroth had Paper and Genesis Scissors. The winner grinned and turned around to take his seat at Lazard's computer... only to find that it was already taken by Angeal.

"Damn you," Genesis muttered and turned to his paperwork again.

Angeal smiled softly. "So, first SOLDIER I have to check?"

"Irvine Keannas." Sephiroth told him, but Angeal had no time to type the name, as Genesis already called out another name.

Angeal rolled his eyes. "One after another, please."

"Zidane Tribal."

"Irvine Keannas."

Irritated Angeal turned to his friends. "Stop it, you two. We have no time for this. ... Seph, give me a name."

"Irvine Keannas," Sephiroth repeated for the third time.

Angeal typed the name and got the needed information at once. "Alive, and still active."

"Zidane Tribal."

"Alive, active."

"Auron Worren."

"Alive, active."

"Isn't there anyone dead?" Genesis complained as he opened another folder.

"Genesis. Name."

"Fine. Setsuna Mudo."

"Alive, active."

The continued working like this for hours, then they organized the names alphabetically and compiled an order for all the dead ones, which were not as many as Genesis had expected.

"Ah, thanks God, we're finished with this bullshit," Angeal yawned.

Genesis eyed him strangely. "You did less work than Sephiroth and I."

"Someone had to do it."

"You mean someone was entitled to do it," Sephiroth corrected.

"Whatever you say. We're finished. Let's get out of here."

The three of them agreed at least on that and were about to head for the door, just when Lazard entered the room.

"Ah, so you've finished your work?"

"Indeed. It was nice working for you again," Sephiroth said politely. "Now, if you excuse us, we still have better things to do."

The silver-haired man elegantly walked pass Lazard, followed by Genesis and Angeal. All three of them were smiling slightly. But before they could make it out of the office, the executive spoke again.

"Before I forget," The SOLDIERs turned to him. "Genesis, Hollander has been looking after Yuuko a short while ago. I thought I'd tell you just in case."

Genesis eyes narrowed dangerously. "Why didn't you call me?!"

"Seriously. A stupid guinea pig can't be that important. Especially not if it's ill…"

The SOLDIER in red didn't answer. Instead he turned on his heel and made a mad-dash for the laboratory. He didn't slow down until he reached the area Hollander's lab was located and burst through the doors.

He arrived just in time to see Hollander carrying his little girl around, eyeing it suspiciously.

"Don't touch her!" Genesis moved closer to the scientist, never taking his eyes from the small and fragile form of his guinea pig. The pet was trembling and squeaked as if it was afraid.

"This is really interesting, you know?" Hollander stroked its brown and white fur. "According to the state of its disease the guinea pig should be dead by now. ... But it is still alive. What did you give him, Genesis?"

"Yuuko, is female, you fool, and I didn't give her anything. I spoonfeed her with fluid oatmeal three times a day, because she can't bite anymore."

"I've seen that. Her teeth are sore. Poor thing."

Genesis made an attempt to take Yuuko from Hollander, but the scientist wouldn't allow it, and Genesis didn't want to hurt her.

"Give her back! She's afraid of you."

"Animals are such strange beings. It's said that they can smell death. Even their own."

Genesis froze upon hearing those words.

"Why do you put so much effort into saving a small life like this?" the scientist held up the guinea pig on one hand and it squeaked fearfully. "It's a waste of time if you ask me. You should be doing more useful things... rather than taking care of a pet that's as good as dead anyway."

The SOLDIER in red clenched his fists. "She'll get better. In a week or two she will be healthy again."

The scientist stared at the SOLDIER. "And then what? Will you be happy if she'll be healthy again?"

"Of course," Genesis smiled softly. "She's been with me since I was twelve years old. I care for her. I want her to feel at ease."

"You know what?" Hollander asked, still holding Yuuko in his right hand. "She will feel at ease if she's redeemed from this cold world."

With that Hollander squeezed the guinea pig in his hand hard. It shrieked and flounced only for a matter of seconds. Then it hang limply and completely motionless from the scientist's hand.

Genesis stared at the dead pet with wide eyes.

"I assume Yuuko is at a place called heaven now. She'll be happy and healthy there and you don't have to care for her anymore."

Hollander dropped the lifeless pet from his hand and indifferently walked out of his lab. The tears that welled up inside Genesis' eyes, were lost on him.


End file.
